Chapter One:

The Awakening

*Ellie*

Smoke filled my lungs as I tried to breathe. Something was constricting me and I couldn't figure out what was making it so hard for me to move. I needed air and as I gasped, nothing but more smoke was inhaled.

Opening gritty, blurry eyes, I tried to look around. My head hurt horribly and my entire chest felt like it was on fire.

A rough hand was shaking my arm, trying to wake me and I could only barely make out an angry, desperate face.

"Get up, come on already!"

The fear in the voice captured my attention as I tried desperately to sit up, my body refusing to cooperate.

"Would you stop shaking her!" shouted a voice, "She still has a sedative in her system that hasn't worn off yet. If you're in such a hurry to leave, then you carry her!"

A scoff came from the angry man and then silence surrounded me.

A moment later, strong arms went beneath my legs and behind my back, lifting me until I was lying against whoever had been talking before.

"Elissa Hayden, can you hear me?" asked a deep, concerned voice, "Hayden?"

"She is still out of it", said another voice.

"We should leave her here", said another gruffer voice who I recognized to have been the one from before who had been shaking me awake.

"We are not leaving her", said the man carrying me, "She is a victim like the rest of us and deserves a fighting chance."

"What about the other woman?"

"Can you carry her?"

"Well sure, but who is going to shoot?"

"I can, I am not carrying them", said the gruff one.

"Fine, let's just get out of here before the infected come."

As I leaned against this stranger's chest, I could hear his heartbeat. He was scared and yet I could see from the expression on his face that he was determined.

He looked down at me and I got my first real look at him. He had snow white hair and gold colored eyes. They were almost eerie looking as they looked down at me. His face looked somewhat familiar but I just couldn't place it. Everything seemed to be in a fog.

"Who are you?" I whispered; my voice weak from not having been used for a while.

The man hesitated for a moment and then answered.

"You can call me Hunter" he said and that was the last thing I heard as I drifted to sleep, the smoke from before only a distant memory.

*Hunter*

I looked down at the girl I carried in my arms. She weighed next to nothing and her body seemed frail and weak. After the base had come under attack by the infected several weeks ago, the military and the medical personal had shipped out, leaving their experiments behind. I was one of those experiments, as was the woman in my arms.

According to the database, her name is Elissa Hayden, age 21, formerly from Savannah, Georgia. She had been injected three months ago with an experimental sedative that puts you to sleep for a long period of time.

Without the sedative being administered weekly, she was finally waking up.

I glanced back at my companions.

There were three of us altogether who had escaped our cells. My cell mate carried the dark skinned woman in his arms who I noticed was also still asleep.

I wasn't very surprised though, the sedatives had been strong, too strong to be administered every week and yet the doctors hadn't wanted them waking any earlier then the sought time.

Still…something about the girl in my arms seemed familiar; perhaps that is why I don't want to leave her. Maybe she can tell me something about myself.

"Infected up a head, Hunter!" my cell mate yelled from the front.

I looked up and growled. Of course they would have to arrive when we were so close to freedom.

I stepped forward but hesitated when I felt the woman in my arms move slightly.

She was awakening gradually and I was afraid she might alert the horde to us if she made any loud noises. Gently covering her mouth with my hand, trying not to suffocate or scare her, but trying to get across my warning to stay silent, I kept my eyes ahead of us.

Shadows were walking around the corner and I nearly opened fire with my pistol when I breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing a couple more experiments step into the hall.

They stopped for a moment when they saw us; their own weapons raised until they got closer and saw we were friendlies.

"You getting out of here?" they asked.

I nodded as I indicated the others behind me, "We all are experiments, as are these two women", I said lifting the girl I held in my arms a little higher for them to see.

The two men didn't say anything but I noticed their faces tense visibly when they saw the girls.

"You know them?" I asked.

The one in the back who was smaller than the first nodded.

"They arrived shortly after we did. There were two men with them as well. I heard the nurses talking about them when they didn't know I had been listening in."

"We need to find them then", I said as I hefted her up higher as she slipped a little in my grasp.

"I know the way", the bigger one said.

"No Hunter", said the man, my cell mate and I had picked up along the way. He was a gruff and an angry sort of a character and yet he had stayed by our side through the entire escape, doing as he was asked but complaining throughout it. "If we go for them now with the infected outside, we won't survive. Going back in there is suicide."

I glanced back at my cell mate who nodded; it seemed he agreed with him. I looked at the two who had offered to take us to them, they also looked nervous about going back in.

I considered the woman in my arms. I hoped she would forgive us for not going back for them.

"Alright then", I finally said with a sigh, "Let's get going."

The others heaved a sigh in relief as they took off, the three with guns leading the way as my cell mate and I followed with the women in our arms.

I only looked back once and then I caught up with the others and headed towards the trucks.

"You think one of these will actually work if we hot wire it?" asked the angry man.

I nodded.

"It should, so long as someone knows how to hot wire."

"I-I can", said a voice.

I looked down at the woman in my arms and was surprised to see glassy eyes staring up at me.

"Can you talk me through it?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Alright then", I said and carried her over to the Truck.

*Ellie*

I stared up at the man I was guiding through hot wiring a truck. For some reason everything was still pretty confusing, I just couldn't seem to think clearly and yet when I stared down at the truck, I knew exactly what needed to be done.

I talked him through it and he followed my directions exactly how I said to do them, trusting me completely, which I thought was surprising considering I didn't even know him.

Or at least I think I don't know him. My mind felt jumbled and I was trying to get it working again, but it was like someone had put everything on hold.

"Alright we are done", the man shouted as he slammed the hood down. He scooped me up into his arms again and slid me into the middle of the front bench between him and…I looked over and saw a dark skinned woman beside me. She seemed so familiar and I knew I should know her name but I just couldn't seem to remember it.

"You will be alright, okay?" said the man as he looked me in the eyes, "Just sleep for now."

I didn't need to be told twice.

*Hunter*

I watched as she closed her eyes and fell asleep. I was relieved to see her sleeping again; she had looked so shaky and pale as she had stood beside me talking me through the hot wiring, but I was thankful she had chosen then to awaken.

I wonder how she knew to do that.

I shook my head ignoring my curiosity as I drove through the gates of the military outpost and out onto the road towards the river.